| MICHIGAN
INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Sunday,
August 19, 2007 on ESPN
|
Top
10 Countdown to Race Weekend |
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| 10
- Of the drivers in the top 10 of the point standings,
seven have won at Michigan International Speedway
either in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup or Busch Series.
Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Carl
Edwards all have visited Gatorade Victory Lane in
the NEXTEL Cup Series at MIS, while Jeff Burton,
Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick have won in the Busch
Series. Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint
Bowyer have yet to win on the two-mile oval, but
they will have their chance during the CARFAX 250
Busch Series race on Saturday, Aug. 18 and the 3M
Performance 400 NEXTEL Cup Series race on Sunday,
Aug. 19..
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| 9
- Kasey Kahne, Driver of the No. 9 Dodge
Dealers/UAW Dodge for Gillett Evernham Motorsports
has experienced above average success at MIS. In
seven NEXTEL Cup starts here the 27-year-old driver
has one win, which came in the inaugural 3M Performance
400 last June, and four top-five finishes. His worst
finish on the two-mile oval came during this June's
Citizens Bank 400 when he finished 32nd. |
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8
- Mark Martin has led eight races in the
Busch Series at Michigan International Speedway,
the most of any driver. During those eight races
Martin has led 304 laps, which coincidentally is
also the most of any driver. The veteran has captured
two Busch Series wins here (8/93; 8/95) and in his
nine starts has finished in the top five every time
except 1997 and 1998 when he finished 11th and sixth,
respectively. Martin is scheduled to race in the
CARFAX 250, so prepare to see him in the top five,
if not in Gatorade Victory Lane. |
| 7
- In June's Citizens Bank 400, seven Chevrolets
finished in the top 10, the most since June of 1984
when seven Chevrolets finished in the top 10 as
well. The August race which followed in 1984 was
won by a Chevrolet, the Budweiser Chevrolet driven
by Darrell Waltrip. If history repeats itself, Dale
Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet,
could capture his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win at
MIS in the 3M Performance 400. In his last three
NEXTEL Cup races here Earnhardt Jr. hasn't finished
worse than sixth. NASCAR's most popular driver has
visited Gatorade Victory Lane at MIS twice in the
Busch Series, once in 1999 and most recently in
last year's CARFAX 250.
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6
- Roush Fenway Racing has won six of the last 11
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races (Carl Edwards 6/07; Matt
Kenseth 8/06; Greg Biffle 6/05, 8/04; Kurt Busch
6/03; Kenseth 6/02). If one of the five Roush Fenway
drivers wins the 3M Performance 400, the team will
tie the Wood Brothers for the most NEXTEL Cup Series
wins on the two-mile oval at 11. |
| 5
- Jeff Gordon's drive for five stops at
Michigan for the 3M Performance 400. The driver
of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports
has been having a championship season. As of the
August Pocono race Gordon has 14 top-five and 19
top-10 finishes as well as four wins this season.
Nearly 400 points separate first place Gordon from
second place Denny Hamlin in the driver point standings.
Gordon will likely continue to put distance between
himself and second place at MIS, because in 29 NEXTEL
Cup starts he has 20 top-10 finishes, 15 of which
he placed fifth or better. Gordon has also captured
two victories on the two-mile oval, both of which
came in years he went on to win the series championship
('98 & '01). |
| 4
- Four of the last five Busch Series races
at MIS have been won by a then full-time NEXTEL
Cup Series driver (Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8/06; Ryan
Newman 8/05; Kevin Harvick 8/03; Michael Waltrip
8/02). NEXTEL Cup Series regulars enjoy running
on the two-mile oval, and in last year's CARFAX
250 the top 10 was comprised solely of NEXTEL Cup
regulars with just three non-Cup regulars in the
top 20. |
| 3
- This weekend will mark the second NEXTEL
Cup race sponsored by 3M. The Minnesota based company
will be the title sponsor for the 3M Performance
400 on Sunday, Aug. 19 and will also sponsor the
second annual 3M Car Care Auto Fair in the AAA Motorsports
Fan Plaza. The company's sponsorship doesn't end
there, as 3M will also sponsor two Roush Fenway
Racing drivers, Greg Biffle in the No. 16 3M car
in the 3M Performance 400 and Todd Kluever in the
No. 16 3M car in the CARFAX 250 Busch Series event
on Saturday, Aug. 18.
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2
- Two of the biggest stars of NASCAR, Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards, rubbed each other
the wrong way in the closing laps of last year's
CARFAX 250 Busch Series race. Under a green-white-checkered
scenario, Earnhardt ran into the back of leader
Edwards, causing the Roush Fenway driver to spin
out, which in turn allowed for the yellow flag to
fall and the race to end with Earnhardt at the front
of the field. With cars still on the track, Edwards
left pit road and ran into the side of Earnhardt's
Chevrolet, but he didn't stop there. Frustrated
and disappointed, Edwards confronted Earnhardt in
Gatorade Victory Lane, and the two drivers agreed
to disagree on what occurred on the track. The win
gave Earnhardt his second in the Busch Series at
MIS, but it was Edwards who had the last laugh,
at least for now, as he took home the trophy for
the Citizens Bank 400 in June. |
| 1
- Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 1
Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet for Dale
Earnhardt Inc., hasn't been in a "sophomore
slump" during his second season of full-time
NEXTEL Cup Series competition. Currently in 11th
place in the point standings, Truex has seven top-10
finishes this season with his first NEXTEL Cup victory
coming at Dover in June. The 27-year-old driver
finished second to Carl Edwards in the June 17 Citizens
Bank 400, his best finish at MIS in any series. |
| As
we count down the days, here are 10 facts, one for
each day, as the beginning of the MIS race season
quickly approaches.
|
| Source:
Michigan International Speedway |
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